Chief and council for Beardy’s and Okemasis Cree Nation temporarily placed two schools in the community under lockdown while RCMP investigated an incident that occurred Friday morning.

A post on the community’s Chief and Council Facebook page stated that the move to lock down the Constable Robin Cameron Education Complex and the Chief Beardy Memorial Elementary School was strictly precautionary. According to the Facebook post, students were not in danger at any time, and regular operations were able to resume before lunch.

The community’s chief and council also urged community members to avoid speculating on the nature of the incident. They said community leaders had been in constant contact with the RCMP, but would not be releasing any more information.

RCMP advised residents of a large police presence in the community at around 9:07 a.m. on Friday. Police asked residents to avoid any areas where police were gathered, and follow police direction when asked. Beardy’s chief and council also urged residents to who did not live in the new village to avoid the area for the time being.

Rosthern RCMP, with the assistance of multiple RCMP units, reported the arrest of one person in connection with a suspicious death investigation at 5:50 p.m. on Friday. RCMP say the investigation is ongoing, and no further details can be released at this time.